The future in the past
by lawyergirl0721
Summary: Max and Ruth Keenan find it difficult to leave their children behind, even if it is for their safety. Maybe one mysterious letter that grants them the oppertunity to view firsthand how their children's lives turn out will ensure they did the right thing.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones**

"Russ, get down here right now!" Christine Brennan yelled from the bottom of the stairs up to her nineteen year old son's room. She sighed when she realized that she was not getting any answer. "Russ, I swear that if I have to make your father come up and get you, I'll-"

She was cut off by a glare from her fifteen year old daughter who was sitting on the couch with her nose in a textbook, "mom, can you please not yell, I am trying to study for biology."

Christine rolled her eyes, "Temperance, honey," she said, "you just got off school for Christmas break, you don't need to spend all your time studying."

"Just because school is out for two weeks doesn't mean I can stop studying," Temperance answered, "and Russ probably has his door shut and is talking on the phone with one of his girlfriends."

"One of them?" Christine questioned, confused. She shook her head and held her hand up to her daughter signaling her not to say anything else, "never mind," she muttered, "I don't think I want to know."

"Are you coming sweetheart?" Matthew Brennan asked his wife as he walked into the house. He noticed his daughter on the couch studying and smiled, "you know Tempe, science can wait for a little bit. You can go out, be wild. It's Christmas break, let yourself loose."

"Dad," Temperance scolded her father, "you should know better than anyone that science does not wait for people to 'let themselves loose."

Max nodded, "you're right honey, I'm sorry." He turned to his wife, "are you ready yet?"

Christine sighed, "I am trying to get your son down here for a minute so I can let him know where we are going."

"Russ!" Matt bellowed from the steps, "get down here right now!"

In no time at all they heard a bedroom door creek open and the sound of footsteps echoing down the upstairs hall. "What?" Russ groaned as he emerged from the stairs.

"Your father and I are going out to do some last minute Christmas shopping," Christine said, "we need to know what you guys want."

"You made me hang up with Liz just for that?" Russ questioned.

Matt rolled his eyes and took his wife's hand in his and lead her to the car. Temperance noticed her parents leaving, so she put her book down and followed them outside, "I would like the newest edition of the science encyclopedias. That would be a great present." She said as her parents were getting into the car.

Russ followed them outside and teased his sister, "you are such a dork, you know that?"

Temperance stuck her tongue out at him and Matt laughed, "Russ, what would you like?"

"A job," Russ answered sarcastically, "I don't care, something cool."

Christine rolled her eyes at Russ' words and Matt started up the car, "take care of your sister," Matt told his son.

"I'm fifteen dad, I'm not a baby," Temperance scolded.

"I'll make sure she eats all her vegetables, takes her bath, and tuck her in before bed," Russ answered in a mocking voice.

Matt laughed as he began to drive away, and Christine leaned out the window and waved to her children, "bye!" she called to them.

###

A few hours later, after a full day of Christmas shopping, the Brennan's were ready to head home. "You think Russ has Tempe tucked into bed yet?" Matt asked his wife jokingly.

Christine laughed, "it wouldn't surprise me," she admitted.

Matt laughed and opened the door of the car for his wife to get in when he saw something that made him freeze. Ruth, confused as to what her husband was looking at, turned around to where Matt's eyes were focused on.

A shady looking man stood in their line of vision with a malicious grin on his face. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Max and Ruth Keenan," the man said.

"McVicor," Max said as he pushed his wife into the car, "don't you even think about coming near my family," he warned, "I will not hesitate to kill you."

"What is stopping me?" McVicor asked.

Matt shook his head and sprinted towards his car, without even thinking, he went to the tail of the car and scraped off the bumper sticker that proudly displayed Tempe's school on it. He was not about to allow this man to even come close to knowing where his children were. He hopped in the car and began driving away. To his dismay, McVicor hopped into his car and was right on their tail.

"We can't go home," Christine said quietly.

Matt looked over at her in surprise, "what do you suppose we do, just leave them to fend for themselves?" Matt asked, shocked that his wife would even suggest such a thing.

"Russ will care for Tempe," Christine said, "besides, if we go home now McVicor will not hesitate to kill our children. I will not put their lives in danger," she said.

Matt nodded, "where do you want us to go?" he asked.

Ruth shrugged, "just drive until we lose him, however long that takes."

Matt nodded and drove right past the street that their house was on and out of town. As they reached the edge of the small suburb of Chicago that they lived in, Matt turned to his wife, "we can't go back, can we?" he asked, his voice choking up with tears.

Christine shook her head no, "it's too dangerous, we can't put Russ and Tempe's lives in danger."

"but what if us leaving them also puts their lives in danger?" Matt questioned.

"No one knows them as Russ and Temperance Brennan," to them they are Kyle and Joy Keenan… we are Max and Ruth. In fact, we should probably resume those identities so they don't pick up on our children's hidden identities," Ruth said.

Max nodded and continued driving away from their life. A few hours down the road, Max noticed that they were running out of gas. Unfortunately for them, McVicor was still hot on their trail. Max found the first place he could to pull over, an abandoned motel and pulled in the drive.

"Stay in here," Max demanded as he got out to confront McVicor.

"Tired of running are we?" McVicor asked, "you should have known that you wouldn't have been able to lose me."

"Shut up McVicor," Max said.

McVicor punched Max in the face and once he was down, put his hands to his throat, strangling him. He grabbed a small hammer out of his pocket and raised it to smash it into Max's forehead. Right before he could do so, Ruth jumped out of the car and grabbed McVicor's hands, keeping him from hurting her husband. Immediately, McVicor turned and swung the hammer at Ruth. She pulled away at the last second, but the hammer still hit her in the head. She put her hands to her head and fell to the ground, and Max grabbed a tire iron from the car and hit McVicor in the head with it.

Once he saw that McVicor was unconscious, he went over to Ruth and helped her up, "are you okay," he asked.

She nodded, "we have to get out of here," she said.

Max nodded and together they began to walk down the road, searching for a car to take them away from here.

###

Later that night, Max checked into a hotel about a hundred miles away from the fight with McVicor had occurred. He and Ruth began to settle for the night.

"What now?" Ruth asked her husband, not sure what to do next.

"We can't go back," Max admitted sadly, "as far as we know, we could have killed a man back there, we need to get new identities, start over again."

"and our children?" Ruth asked.

Max sighed, "we can always go back and get them later if-"

Ruth shook her head, "no, that is too dangerous, too risky. They don't even know about our past. Their lives will be better without us."

Max huffed, "are you sure of that?"

Ruth nodded, "they are safer where they are at; without us."

Max was about to argue when he noticed a not on the side table that took his breath away.

Max and Ruth Keenan,

I am aware that you are having a difficult time deciding what

Would be best for your family right now. Allow me to help.

If you choose so, turn on the television and you will be able to

See the life your children will live without you. If you do accept this offer,

You will have to watch until it stops. I hope this may help you in making your decision.

Max showed the note to Ruth who shook her head and laughed, "do they actually think we are stupid? We need to leave, somebody is on our trail." She began packing up her things, but she soon noticed her husband just standing there, looking at the note. "Do you actually think this is serious?" she asked incredulously.

Max shrugged," it's worth a shot, don't you think?"

Ruth just laughed.

"We can always leave if it's not real, but if it is- this will make our decision easier, don't you think. If we know that they turned out alright. I won't turn the tv on unless you agree."

Ruth rolled her eyes thinking how incredibly stupid men were and nodded her approval.

Taking a deep breath, Max pressed the power button and waited for his children's future to flash before their eyes.

**New story. I don't think this has ever been done in the way I'm doing it, so I decided to do it! I hope it will catch enough interest. Be sure to review if you want me to continue. All I can say is that if continued I am in for a LONG journey…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones**

The TV screen remained dark for a few seconds, and Ruth sighed an 'I told you so' sigh to her husband. Max released the breath he had been holding in disappointment; it really was too good to be true. "I guess we need to get going," he said to his wife.

Ruth nodded and continued to quickly pack up her things when the TV began to play. They both stopped what they were doing and turned to face the screen. On it was a clear image of their house that they had left behind. Ruth's mouth fell open and Max smiled a smug smile, happy he finally got something right. They both sat on the bed and began to watch their children's lives play out in front of their eyes.

###

_Temperance sat on the couch and pretended to be reading her book. However, it was painfully obvious that she was worried when she would continuously look up at the clock, wondering when her parents were going to get back. Russ sat in the chair by the TV and pretended to be absorbed in one of his favorite shows, but it was also obvious that he was beginning to get freaked out that his parents weren't home yet either. The clock read 1:20, they should surely be home by now, right? No Christmas shopping could take this long!_

"_When are they going to be home, Russ," Temperance asked her older brother._

_Russ shrugged his shoulders in honesty, "I don't know Tempe," he admitted, "maybe you should just go to bed. They'll be here in the morning. I bet they just got caught up in something," he tried to convince even himself, "yeah, that has to be it."_

_Tempe nodded in agreement as she yawned, "you're probably right," she admitted, "good night," she added._

"_Good night," Russ returned, and he watched hr ascend the stairs to her room. Once she was gone, and he was sure that she would not return, Russ went to the phone and dialed the local police stations number._

"_Yes, this is Russ Brennan," he said in greeting when the phone was answered. "No, this is not a prank call," he said in frustration when the person on the other side of the line began scolding him, "yes I know I'm a trouble maker, but-" he was cut off, and he respectfully waited until the other person was done scorning him before he continued. "Now if you would please listen to me," he asked, "my parents left earlier this afternoon to go Christmas shopping, and they haven't come back yet." He listened to the other person say something to him. "Yes… yes, I understand. Thank you sir."_

_He hung up and sighed. He looked up at the clock again, 12:05. He shook his head and said to himself, "the police are probably right, they will be home by morning."_

_ ###_

_The next morning, Temperance woke up and immediately rushed into her parents' room to make sure they were home. She couldn't help but gasp when she saw that their bed had not been touched the previous night; they were not home. _

"_Russ!" she called loudly to her brother._

_He immediately came running down the hall, and barged into their parents' room, "what, what is it?"_

"_They didn't came home," Temperance stated nervously, with tears in her eyes. "Something had to have happened to them, they wouldn't just not come home."_

_Russ began to squirm when his little sister began to cry, he was never good with dealing with emotions, and he always managed to say the wrong thing. However, he knew he had to try, for his sister. "Hey," he said, placing an arm on her shoulder for comfort, "everything will turn out fine, I promise."_

_Temperance sniffed, "how do you know?" she demanded._

_Russ shrugged, "because I am your big brother, and I know everything."_

_Temperance attempted a weak smile, "I know more than you," she joked._

_Russ laughed, "maybe things won't turn out all right, but always know that I am your big brother; I will always be here for you," he told her._

"_Promise?" Tempe asked him._

"_Promise," Russ responded._

_ ###_

_A few days later, Temperance woke up and slowly headed down the stairs. She was dreading this day all week; it was Christmas, and her parents still were not home. Things would not be the same without them, and the only thing she wanted was for them to come home._

_As she walked down the stairs, she saw the glimmer of lights coming from a Christmas tree in the corner. This was not up last night! That could only mean one thing; her parents were home. She felt her heart leap from her chest as she saw the presents stacked up under the tree. "Russ," she called, "Russ," mom and dad are home."_

_Russ quickly came barreling down the stairs, "where?" he demanded._

_She pointed to all the decorations that filled their living room, "look, that was not up last night, they came back just in time for Christmas."_

_Russ's face fell. "Tempe," he said softly, "they aren't home."_

"_What?" Tempe demanded, her heart breaking with those words._

"_I did this," Russ admitted. Tempe shook her head in disbelief, and Russ continued, "I found the presents, and I thought it would be nice if we had Christmas- to take our minds off of things."_

"_No," Temperance stated stubbornly._

"_Tempe-" Russ tried to reason with her._

"_No," she stated firmly again, "I refuse to have Christmas until they get home. How can you even think we could have Christmas without them? What kind of son are you, thinking we can just forget about them? What kind of brother are you getting my hopes up thinking they are back, just to get my heart torn out of my chest once again. I hate you, you are the worst brother in the world!"_

_Russ watched her storm up the stairs and listened as her door slammed shut. Tears rolled down his face at her words and he whispered to no one in particular, "Merry Christmas."_

_ ###_

_Not even a week later Temperance stood out in front of their house watching Russ drive away from her. He said he found a job out west that he could not refuse. He said he called the social worker, and she would be over after dinner. Temperance did not say anything in response; she had nothing to say to him; he was abandoning her._

_She watched in silence as he drove away, but whispered right before his car vanished into the horizon, "you promised."_

_ ###_

Max and Ruth watched the screen in horror as Russ drove away from Tempe, leaving her alone. They never expected that to happen in a million years, they always thought if anything would happen to them, he would always take care of her. Yes, Tempe was being a little difficult, but that was no excuse. She had no one else.

"We have to go back," Max whispered painfully. "If we leave now, we can be back before morning, and none of this will ever happen."

Ruth shook her head no, "it is still too dangerous. Believe me, I want to go back, but we have to watch the whole show, that was part of the rules," she pointed to the screen which began showing another scene, "I don't think it's over yet."

**This story is going to be tricky to write. It is going to follow Tempe through her life starting from the time her parents left, and running through the end of season (hence the long journey.) What is going to be difficult is to incorporate Max and Ruth's reactions to everything. Probably I'll do something similar to this chapter (put Tempe's life in italics and in a different section than Max and Ruth's thoughts.) Let me know if it is too confusing, and how I can better the technique. Remember to review, I'll update faster.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones**

_ Temperance Brennan sat on the sofa in her house with her arms wrapped around her knees, tears streaming down her face. Her brother had just left her- broke his promise to her, and now she was on her own. She was smart enough to know what would happen next. A social worker would come and put her in the foster care system. Her whole life she had a mother, a father, and a brother; she always had a family who loved her and would take care of her. She meant the world to them, and they meant the world to her. She was there little girl. Now, they were gone, vanished off the face of this earth. For all she knew, her parents were dead- what else could explain them leaving like they did without a trace. Her brother Russ was a different story. He left on his own accord, he had abandoned her! It was truly amazing how in two weeks time she went from having a loving, caring family to having no family at all._

_ A knock sounded on the door, causing Temperance to jump in shock. She sat motionless and stared at the sound. She knew who it was- it was the social worker that was going to take her away from her home and put her into a new family. Temperance did not move, as if sitting still would make the woman at the door leave her alone and bring her family back to her. The social worker did not wait long, she opened the unlocked front door and walked in to the room where a frightened fifteen year old was curled up on the sofa in fear._

_ "Oh honey," the woman said when she saw Temperance, "it's going to be ok, I promise."_

_ Temperance sniffed back her tears and shook her head._

_ The woman continued, "I am Cara Mortinson, and I will be your social worker. I know this has to be difficult for you, but I can assure you that you will be fine. In fact, I have already found a nice family that is willing to take you in."_

_ Temperance huffed, this woman was talking to her as if she was a stray dog someone picked up at the pound._

_ Cara sighed once she noticed Temperance was not going to talk to her. The older kids always did take this harder than the younger ones. Oh well, what has to be done has to be done. Cara handed Temperance two black garbage bags and said, "you have a half hour to pack whatever you want to take into these bags. Once you are done, we will get going, and I will bring you to your new home."_

_ "This is my home," Temperance murmured under her breath. Cara heard the girl, but before she could say anything, Temperance was walking off with her bags to get packed._

_ Temperance entered her room and went to her closet. She stared at the clothes hanging neatly with a blank stare. How were you to limit your wardrobe in a situation like this? How was she to fit her entire life into two garbage bags? Deciding she really didn't care, she shoved random clothes into her bag. Once her first bag was filled with the majority of the clothes in her closet, she moved on to packing her personal belongings. She grabbed some of her favorite books, pictures, and other miscellaneous items. After getting everything out of her room that held some value to her, she entered her parents room to retrieve some items. She placed her mothers jewelry box safely in the bag, and then a dolphin figurine that her mother always kept on her nightstand. She was not about to leave her whole life behind and not take some memories with her._

_ After she finished packing, she carried her bags back down to the room where Cara was waiting for her. "Are you all ready dear?" Cara asked Temperance. Temperance shrugged in reply and Cara led Temperance out to the van that would carry her away from life as she knew it. As they began driving away Temperance turned to look back at her house, her life. Quietly, she sent up a quick prayer that her parents would return, that everything would be ok._

_ Before long, the house was out of sight, and Temperance watched the unfamiliar buildings come into her sight. The van turned onto a block that was filled with fairly nice houses. The van stopped next to one and Cara sighed and said, "this will be your new home. The Martins are very nice. They are in their mid thirties and they don't want kids of their own, so they choose to foster. You'll be in good hands."_

_ Cara waited for a response from the girl, but seeing she was not going to get one, Cara opened the door and lead Temperance up to the new house._

_ The Martins were nice enough, they awkwardly hugged Temperance as she entered the house, and quickly showed her to her room. When Temperance cam back down from putting her bags in her room, Cara was leaving._

_ "Now you behave Temperance," she told her, "I hope this works out for you all." Temperance said nothing as they all watched her walk out the door._

_ ###_

By the end of this clip Max was fuming. "No!" He stated firmly, "there is no way we are letting our daughter go into foster care! Do you know what happens ion foster care?"

Ruth sighed, "no," she admitted, "do you?"

Max shook his head forcefully, "I've heard enough to know that I will not allow our daughter to be part of it." He stood up and began pacing the floor of the hotel room, something he tended to do when he got nervous. "I don't need to see any more, let's go get her. Save her."

"Max," Ruth said quietly, "I don't like this as much as you do, but we need to keep them safe. If we go back it will put their lives in danger. It is either foster care or death. I don't know about you, but I would rather her be in foster care."

Max sat back down on the bed and growled, "let's just continue watching.

** I know it has been forever since I updated this story. I went on vacation last week, and when I got back I had a terrible ear infection, and then my laptop stopped working so I have to fight for computer time with my younger siblings. I hope this is not confusing, I don't think it is, but then again, I wrote it so what do I know? I do know that there won't be this long of a gap between updated if people review ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones**

_ Temperance was dreading going to school, which was kind of funny for her. Usually school was the best part of the day; she loved learning and loved to be in a studious environment. However, she was smart enough to know that she was going to have a hard time fitting in at this new school. She remembered when a new kid would come to her old school. They would get picked on ruthlessly, and the situation was only made much worse if you were a foster kid. She always was thankful that she had a loving family; that that kid being picked on wasn't her, but now it would be. A part of her, deep down, hoped that the people in this school would not be as cruel as some of the kids in her old school was, but she knew better than to get her hopes up; kids are cruel, no matter where you go._

_ That morning she was fortunate enough to get a ride to school by Mr. Martin. He warned her that this was only a onetime deal; he and his wife both have to go to work much earlier than when her school begins, but they wanted her to be at ease on her first day. As they dropped her off in the parking lot and drove off, Temperance took a deep breath and walked through the doors of her new school._

_ She had not even taken five steps into the building when a tall, muscular boy grabbed a hold of her arm and pushed her up against the wall. "Well, well, well," he said to her, grasping on to her arm tighter, "look what we've got here. A new kid, a freshie by the distinct smell of fear I can smell radiating off of you."_

_ "You can't smell fear," Temperance decided to let the kid know in a small, weak voice._

_ The guy gave out a huge laugh and turned to face the rest of the kids in the hallway, still gripping her tightly, "hey everybody, we've got ourselves a new freshie that thinks she knows it all."_

_A few of the kids began to snicker in the hallway, and some just flat out laughed at her. For the first time in her life, Temperance Brennan was ready to leave school and go home… and the bell for first period hadn't even run g yet. Tears began to flow down her face, and the kid that was gripping her tightly just laughed at her discomfort. "I'll give you your first lesson here at this school," he said as he socked her in the gut, "don't get in my way; in fact, don't even cross my path or there will be hell to pay. Got it?"_

_Temperance just stood there, unsure of what to say or do, quivering in fear. The kid socked her in the gut once again and repeated, "I said do you got it?" he demanded._

_Temperance nodded, and the guy shoved her out of his way and went and joined his friends that were standing by watching the confrontation. As she was walking away she heard one of his friends say to him, "she is one of those weird foster kids. The ones that their parents don't want them anymore, so they give them to families who need money so they take in the kids to get money from the government…"_

_Temperance rushed away quickly, not wanting to hear any more of what these kids had to say about her. She knew without a doubt that it was happening, she figured it would just be easier if she didn't have to hear it._

_Before long, the bell signaling the beginning of first period rang and Temperance found herself in the back of a math classroom with a bunch of kids staring at her and whispering crude comments about her to their friends. Temperance sighed, she really couldn't expect anything different. She looked up at the clock… only 7 and a half more hours._

_Class itself was not that bad. Everybody left her alone when there was a teacher in the room to supervise everything. It was the six minutes in between classes that she dreaded. It was hell walking in the hallways between classes. If she wouldn't get pushed and shoved, she would have to endure the constant snickering and pointing that the other kids did. The classes themselves seemed to take much less time than the time in between took._

_At the end of third period, something unexpected happened. Temperance turned to see a blonde, perky girl approaching her. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the insults that was sure to be coming her way, but to her surprise, there were none. Instead the girl reached out her hand and said, "hi, my name is Katie, what's your name?"_

"_Temperance," Temperance answered._

"_Wow," Katie replied, "that is kind of an unusual name."_

"_I know," Temperance responded. She didn't say anything else, just let the awkward silence take over._

_Either Katie didn't notice it, or she just downright ignored it. "Listen," she said to Temperance, "I have lunch starting at 11:45. If you would like you can come sit by me. I usually sit at the closest table to the door. See you then," Katie turned and waved as she headed off to her next class._

_The rest of the time until lunch passed by quickly for Temperance. She was just relieved she had finally found a friend. She actually found that she was excited for lunch so she could get to know Katie a little more._

_When lunch came, she got her tray and approached the table closest to the door where Katie said she'd be. Sure enough she was there, along with a bunch of other girls. As she approached the other girls looked up at her and started to laugh. Temperance was confused and began to walk closer to the table. The girl sitting next to Katie looked at Katie and said, "you were right, she really thought you were being serious. What a dweeb."_

_Katie joined in with the other girls at laughing at and taunting her. Temperance felt her heart fall, and she quickly ran out the door before anyone could see the tears that were falling down her face. She should have known nobody would want to be her friend._

_She spent the rest of lunch crying in a stall in the bathroom. When she left to go to her next class, she swore to herself that she was not going to cry at school again. She would just have to make sure whatever people did would not bother her… easier said than done._

_That night as she sat at the dinner table with the Martins, Mrs. Martin asked Temperance, "how was your day at school?"_

"_Good," Temperance lied._

###

Ruth tensed up once that scene finished playing out on the screen in front of them. She was half upset about what her baby girl went through in just one day, and she was half worried of how her husband would react. It came as a huge surprise to her when Max did not move, just said through clenched teeth, "let's just continue!"

**I used to be so good at updating frequently… what happened? Anyways, I hope you are enjoying this. As maybe you are aware, I currently am writing three stories. That is a little much, and I am thinking about putting one story on hiatus until my other two stories are done. Make sure you review if you want this story to be continued.**


	5. AN

**I am sorry to say that I think I am going to stop writing this story (it's been a few months since I've been writing anyways.) College is a lot different than high school… unfortunately, I actually have to study. Therefore my nights are spent doing that rather than writing. Also factored into the equation is the fact that I don't feel like anyone is reading these stories. I apologize, I hate to do this… but I just lost my inspiration for these stories. I might start working on a continuation of another story/ series I finished, but it depends on the time I have. Again, I'm sorry. Maybe sometime I will continue these stories, but I can't see this happening in the near future. **


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